Softball Game Preview: Woodlake Tigers vs. Golden West Trailblazers

The Woodlake Tigers will take on the Golden West Trailblazers at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Woodlake is coming into the contest hot, having won their last nine games.

Woodlake is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. They never let Justin Garza get on the board and left with a 10-0 win. The result was nothing new for the Tigers, who have now won 23 matchups by six runs or more so far this season.

Meanwhile, Golden West hadn't done well against Tulare Western recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. The Trailblazers came out on top against the Mustangs by a score of 4-1. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Trailblazers.

Khianna Hardwick made a big impact while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched seven innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits. Hardwick was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. That's the most hits she has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Reann Boyd, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one double.

Golden West hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. They are 9-4 when they post two or more strikeouts.

Woodlake pushed their record up to 26-1 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.6 runs on average over those games. As for Golden West, their victory bumped their record up to 16-12-1.

Woodlake might still be hurting after the 11-1 defeat they got from Golden West when the teams last played back in March of 2021. Can the Tigers avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.